Iceland beat Portugal in a high-pressure match

Kristianstad Arena was coloured in blue as Iceland defeated Portugal in a high-pressure fray. Portugal never had a lead in the match but kept rebounding after trailing over and over again. Iceland managed to seal the win in the last five minutes of the match, boosted by the chants from the stands.

Group D

Iceland vs Portugal 30:26 (15:15)

The clash of the day in Kristianstad saw an epic battle between two strong European teams in their fourth consecutive face-off at World Championship and EHF EURO.

The first five minutes of the match showed us why this was going to be a high-intensity match. Manuel Gaspar started with a save, allowing his team to get the match's first lead. However, experienced Björgvin Páll Gústavsson responded with his three consecutive saves, leaving Portugal goalless up until the fourth minute of the match.

Iceland did not build on Gústavsson's saves and soon allowed Portugal to equalise to 2:2. The first one to gain a significant lead were Iceland, who created a 4-0 goal run at the 10th-minute mark and made the Portuguese side nervous in the attack. The creator? Ómar Ingi Magnússon.

However, Portugal showed they could turn the tide when Diogo Branquinho reduced the deficit to 6:7 and Pedro Portela scored his fourth goal of the night, levelling with the Icelanders (7:7).

The result forced Icelandic head coach Guðmundur Guðmundsson to call for a time-out. Four minutes later, Iceland was in front by two with a nice goal from Bjárki Mar Elisson.

We almost saw a complete turnaround in the 23rd minute of the match. Portugal once again equalised, boosted with fast break goals, and had a chance to gain their first lead in the match, but Gústavsson turned himself into a hero one more time for his side. More missed opportunities prevented Iceland from retaining the lead as the two sides went into the break at 15:15.

This pace was maintained throughout the second half. Iceland led by a maximum of two goals, and Portugal kept rebounding. They were not shaken by the direct red card shown to Fábio Magalhães, followed by a penalty shot that brought Iceland a three-goal lead (21:18). Portugal made a run for it and saw Alexandre Cavalcanti netting for 22:22.

Talking about goalkeepers' importance in crunch time, both sides had some spectacular saves. When you add technical errors to the mix, you get one team to trail again and it was Portugal once again.

Iceland quickly propelled to a 27:24 lead three minutes before the final whistle, deciding the match and getting their revenge for a 23:25 defeat at the start of the 2021 Men's World Championship.

In two days, Portugal will try to get their first win against the Republic of Korea, while Iceland will face group leaders Hungary.

hummel Player of the Match: Bjárki Mar Elisson (Iceland)